


With A Loss, Comes A Gain

by kunoichineko



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: baby turtles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-04-20 14:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4790261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kunoichineko/pseuds/kunoichineko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikey thinks his all alone when his the only survivor of the Hamato family, until he catchs three mutant turtle eggs in the clutches of the Kraang. Rating teen up because I'm delirious!<br/>Disclaimer: I do not own tmnt. . .<br/>DISCONTINUED (might be rewritten though)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

First Splinter...

*"Master Splinter!" The four ninja turtles yell as they run up to their fallen father. The victor of the battle, Shredder retreaved his kabuto from the floor. He silently put it back over his head and walked out of sight. 

"Master Shredder, do we finish the rest," his top henchman, the ruthless Tiger Claw, asked. 

"No," Shredder said in a low tune, "Let them suffer." 

Splinter lay motionless on the ground, blood flowing out of the large gash in his chest. 

"My sons," he gasped out, before his breathing stopped.* 

Then Raph...

*"Raph," Mikey whispered, looking at his brother. He was horribly burnt, his emerald green skin looked almost black. He had blisters that covered most of his right leg and arm. His plastron was cracked, blood flowed out of the injury. 

Raph was still alive, but barely holding on. 

"Donnie," Mikey said, facing his genius brother with pleading eyes, "Yo-you can fix him... Right?"

Donnie looked back Mikey. If he attended Raph's bleeding, there was still the burns. If he saw to the burns, there was still the physical trauma. Burnt to Raph's palm, was his Tphone which was still giving off a signal of danger. 

Donnie broke his gaze away from his little brother's saddened face and looked at the ground, "I'm... sorry..." Raph let out a breath but didn't take in another.*

Then it was Donnie...

*Mikey waited silently outside TCRI. Waiting for his two other brothers to escape the kraang filled building. 

"Man, their taking for-"

He didn't have a chance to finish that sentance before the doors opened and his eldest brother ran out. 

"Run," he yelled, taking a rough hold of Mikey's wrist, pulling him as far away from the building as possible. 

"But why?! Where's Donnie?!"

No sooner had he said those words had the building blown up. The giant skyscraper came tumbling to the ground, fire was spreading rapidly around the area. 

Both Leo and Mikey managed to get to high ground just in time, a split second later and they would have been burnt up. 

"Leo," Mikey whispered, "Where's Donnie?" 

Leo didn't answer. He just slipped his hand into Mikey's, holding it tightly. Mikey looked at his solemn yet very depressed face. That was all Mikey needed to see before he let his tears run down his face.*

Then, my last remaining brother...

*It had been 2 years since Donnie's death, 3 years since Raph's, 7 years since Splinter's death. The two 24 year old turtles and their still remaining family, mutant and others, managed to defeat Shredder and stop the Kraang from ever invading earth again. 

They felt accomplished and fulfilled. They may have lost over half of their original family, they, at least, still had each other. 

But that all changed. 

Mikey kneeled beside his brother, who had fallen horribly ill. His skin looked pale, he lost alot of weight, making him look boney, his eyes looked somewhat lifeless and he barely had any strength at all. 

Mikey helped him with everything. Even helping him move into a sitting position. 

"Michelangelo," Leo whispered out, his voice sounding very hoarse. 

"Yeah, Leo," Mikey replied quietly. He was scared, Leo never used his full name unless it was something serious.

"I..." Leo coughed roughly, "Don't think I can stay much longer..."

Mikey's eyes widened. Was Leo trying to say..? 

"No," Mikey exclaimed, "You can't! Please don't leave me!"

"My body is moments away from it's limit," Leo gasped out, his breathing becoming irregular. Mikey took a gentle hold of his hand. 

"Please, Leo," Mikey whispered, tears beginning to run down his cheeks, "Hold on just alittle longer..." 

"I'm... sorry, Mikey," Leo said, closing his eyes. 

"Please, Leo," Mikey said loudly, "Don't go! I'll be alone!" 

"No, you... won't," Leo coughed again before taking in a gasp of air, "I'll... Always be with you... Al...ways..."

"Leo," Mikey gasped and sharply breathed in, "I love you, bro..."

"I... L-love... You...to-" And he fell limp. His breathing stopped. Mikey's eyes widened. He felt frozen. His last remaining family, died right in front of him. "At least," Mikey mumbled, feeling more tears well up, "I got to tell you... I love you..." And they all began to cascade down.* 

Now, here I am. Laying on the long, empty couch in the centre of this sewer home. I only realised how big this place was once I'm the only one living here. Most of the lights stopped working, the tv only showed static, the only kitchen appliance that works is the fridge and the shower in the bathroom got clogged. 

I could actually fix most of that stuff but I've been feeling really drained. I just can't find that much energy. 

In front of me, was a box. A box containing a navy blue blanket. Atop of the blanket were three eggs. One was baby green, the other two baby blue. All of them as large as two ostrich eggs put together. 

*Mikey and Leo were in TCRI. Stealthly avoiding kraang droids instead of disintegrating them. They weren't here for a full on attack. Only to spy on the kraang's newest scheme for world domintation. They, miraculously, managed to make their way to the testing room. The weren't able to hear anything, but they did see them. 

There were about 6 or 7 chicken sized eggs in there. A kraang droid took an eyedropper and used it to drop droplets of mutagen onto each one. Mikey looked to Leo, awaiting his orders.  
Leo gave him the silent signal to go in and try to collect those eggs, trying to cause as little commotion as possible. Mikey nodded. They both looked at the the kraang facial detection panel. 

Leo looked to and fro and found a kraang coming their way. Fast as sound, he ripped the exposed kraang out of it's body before throwing it to Mikey. Mikey gasped at the sudden move before throwing the kraang brain as far away from him as possible. Leo put the face against the panel and the door opened. Both of them cheered mentally before quickly getting in and finding the best place to hide in the room. It was behind a huge canister of mutagen. 

They waited for the perfect moment, when the kraang's attention wasn't on the eggs anymore. Leo nodded, giving the silent 'ok' to go in. Mikey made his way to the table, dodging each kraang in his way. He safetly made it to the table. He quickly began to take one egg at a time, careful not to grab it too tight. Unfortunatly, a kraang spotted him once he collected only three. 

"Kraang, it is the one known as a turtle," it said in it's monotunous tune. Mikey immediatly used his kasarigama to chop it's head of. Unfortunatly, the nunchuk hit the remaining eggs, making them fall to the ground and splatter. 

"Mikey," Leo yelled, "Retreat!" Mikey made sure the three eggs he managed to save were safely in his belt pocket before running after Leo. Mikey was running in front of him, taking down any kraang that tried to stop them. He heard Leo make a grunt. He was about to turn around and ask what happened but was cut off. 

"No time," Leo simply said, "Just run!"* 

Now, here we are. That was only afew weeks before Leo died. The eggs slowly started growing larger and larger and change their colour. I have no idea what to do with them, except watch them. If I could, I would call April and ask her to help me here but I can't. Her father made the whole family move away. I guess mutating twice really raised his fear factor for New York. 

I haven't heard a thing from Casey since a year ago. I don't know what happened to him at all.

I hate this. I hate being all alone. I hate having no one by my side. I hate having no reassurance that everything will be okay. I'm scared. What now? What do I do now? Do I just stay here, waiting for something to happen? 

Crack.

What was that? 

I look at the three eggs and see one of the green ones are shaking. Is it going to hatch? Another crack and this time, I see it. The shell slowly starts to break, tiny pieces start to peel off the egg. 

I don't know what to do, only watch as the middle of the shell splits and the top half bounces off the blanket and falls to the floor.

A turtle.

It's a mutant turtle. 

A tiny mutant turtle. 

It flails it's tiny arms, I guess in a way to try to get out of the bottom half of the shell. 

I immediatly go off instinct, picking it up in my hands. I carefully take the egg shell off it's back and cradle it in my arms. It stops flailing and calms down, making slight whimpering noises. 

"It's okay," I whisper, my voice sounding alittle hoarse. I haven't said a single word since I buried Leo at the farmhouse and said my goodbyes to April before she and her family left for Illinois. Which was a month ago. 

The little turtle slowly opens its eyes and looks at me. Its eyes were a light grey, they seemed to also have slight shades of other colors. Like a diamond. 

Its eyes weren't the only strange, yet fascinating, thing about it. It had a dark yellow skin tone. Some areas, like the palms of its hands, the soles of its feet, its knees and its snout, are a light yellow tone. Its shell is an even darker yellow, it even appears black. It had a smooth feel, leather like. 

The little turtle cooed and stretched out it's tiny hand. Was it to reach me? I put my finger in front of it's palm. It grabbed it, my index finger a bit too big for its hands. And it sure has some grip. 

I wonder if... This is how Splinter felt. He lost his family, and gained another. 

I glance at the other two eggs and back to the small turtle. Its eyes were slowly closing and its grip slightly losening. 

I guess now I'll finally know how it feels to be the eldest of the family.


	2. Chapter 2

It has only been 5 hours since the first turtle hatched and during that amount of time, the other two hatched as well. 

The first one to hatch was a boy and so was the second but the last was a girl, from what I could (and couldn't) see. All of them are about the size of my hand. All of them are so tiny. 

The second one to hatch has bright yellow eyes. Its skin is sea foam green, it's a very light shade of green. On the areas along the outer side of his arm, the outer side of his thighs, around it's face and between his eyes till the end of its snout it's a dark shade of green. Its shell is the same shade of green. 

The girl has a black eye shade. Her skin is a turquoise colour and she has freckles just like mine. Her shell is an ordinary green shade, but it has a flower type of pattern to it. The edges had cuts on it which made it look like flower petals. 

Right now, all of them are safetly in my arms, cuddled up to my chest. The blanket was covering all of them. My arms holding onto them above the blanket. All of them feel so warm and squishy. Their small breaths of air actually calm me and make me smile. Their sleeping faces look so innocent. 

I close me eyes and hold them closer to my chest. I'm never going to let them go. I open my eyes again and, for a split second, I thought I saw Leo, smiling at me with that warm smile of his. But Leo disappears, leaving me back to this uncomfortaly quiet place. With no one to look after me. But three little ones for me to look after. 

"I promise little dudes," I whisper, "I'll make sure your always safe. No matter what." The little turtles all respond to my voice by moving slightly in my arms.

They're so vulnerable. Their like little bags of mush with an egg shell cover over the mid section. 

But how, exactly, am I the turtle to take care of these guys? I mean, I honestly don't know how Splinter took such good care of us! Where will I find blankets and food and...

Wait, their gonna be crying for food, soon, aren't they? 

I guess I might as well get off my feet and find something edible for them. 

Suddenly, my stomach grumbles and I start feeling the result of not eating for two days. 

I clench my stomach. Okay, make that find something to eat for me and them. I take a cushion from the couch and place it into the box. Over it, I put the unfolded blanket. I carefully lay each turtle into the box and cover them with the rest of the blanket. 

I stand up but fall right back down onto the couch. My legs feel like jelly. When was the last time I stood up? I stand again and try to balance myself as best I can. Once I'm, more or less, walking sturdy and straight, I walk to my room and look for something to help me carry things. I try flipping on the light switch but the lightbulb sparks and that's it. I try flipping it again and again and again. Still nothing. It must be on my 'Things to fix once I feel like it' list. 

I search around the room, picking things up and moving them to the side, shoving things and making them fall onto the floor. All in all, the room was a bigger mess than when I found it. Eventually, I find an old carrier bag under my bed. It'll have to do. 

I walk out of my room and head for the turnstiles but hear a whimper coming from the box. I walk back to the box and see that two of the turtles shifting around, whimpering quietly with upset looks on their faces. The third, which was the boy with the seafoam green skin, was fast asleep, somehow unaware, or ignoring, his brother and sister's silent cries. 

I smile alittle before picking up the two and they immediatly calm down and cuddle up to my chest. I guess I can't leave them behind so I'll have to take them with me. 

I pick up the third one, careful not to wake him up, and begin my journey for dinner. The dark sewer tunnels may have been uninviting to the people uptop, but living in them for your whole life makes it feel like walking down a hallway in an ordinary home. 

There's no way for me to find baby food down here, so I'll have to go above ground. I haven't been out of the lair for a long time.

Is it a good idea? 

I look at the three still sleeping forms. None of them look ready to wake up so it probably is safe. I make my way to the nearest manhole. I gently hold all three baby turtles in one arm and use the other to push the cover. 

I climb up the ladder and push the cover back on. I found myself in an empty alley, graffiti covered the walls and litter covered the floors. I use the nearest fire escape to get to the roof. 

"Babyfood is definatly at the store," I whisper. I begin to start running along the rooftops. The wind wheezes past me, its really refreshing compared to sewer air. The gap between the two apartment buildings drew nearer. I hug the turtles tighter to my chest, ensuring that they won't mistakenly slip from my grasp. 

Time seemed to slow down as I made the jump. Looking down at the 40 foot drop gives me a rush of adrenaline. And it feels great. Once my feet hit the ground, I speed up, leaping over more buildings. I've never felt like this since... since... 

I saw flashes of green fly past me. Green, red, purple and blue. I blink. I must be seeing things. 

I spot the store. Obviously, I can't go in. I observe the area and find the dumpsters at the back. 

Jackpot. 

I check on the baby turtles. All of them are still fast asleep, the silver diamond eyed boy sucking his thumb. I can't help a smile. Their just adorable. 

I focus my attention back to the dumpsters. All around them is a barbed wire fence, which I could easily jump over. I better be fast before any of the store staff appear and try to get my shell. I jump off the building, down the fire escape and hide behind a parked store truck. 

The coast is clear. 

I quickly whizz my way to the dumpsters, leaping over the barbed wire and having it just touch the sole of my foot with its tip. I breathe a sigh of quiet relief and continue my journey to the dumpsters. 

I gently place the baby turtles on an old mattress, which I have no idea why it's at a grocery store. They seemed settled with the change of enviroment. I open the first dumpster and start searching around. 

If I learnt anything these last few years is food never expires on the 'real' expiry date. It takes weeks before it actually goes bad. So, I manage to find some ramen packets, cow's milk, yogurt, cheese and bread. Great! I keep the ramen and cow's milk. I don't have much space in the carrier bag to keep it all so I have to make some sacrifices. I open the next one and find yogurt, baby food, baby powder milk and diapers.

And we've hit gold! 

But seriously, who throws away perfectly good diapers?

I decide to keep the yogurt and take the baby stuff. I decide to just take a peek at what's inside dumpster number 3. There's tons of fruit and veggies. Not sure how much use that is to me. 

I close the dumbster, place the carrier bag's straps on my shoulders, pick up the turtles and bolt it. Before I knew it, I'm back in the safety of the lair. 

I place the turtles onto the couch comfortably and head to the kitchen. First things first, I have to fix the kettle before the turtles wake up. Which is soon. 

I walk to Donnie's lab and hesitate from opening it. I half expect seeing Donnie sitting in his lab chair, experimenting on some scientific stuff. Then again, I also expect not. I haven't been in here seen I last saw Donnie. Leo went in and out of this room for tools and stuff to fix the lair's applinances. I helped, of course, but never went in the lab. 

It still stings alittle thinking of my brothers, but at least I've stopped crying and got over the fact I am, in fact, the last survivor of the Hamato clan. There's still Karai but... let's just say she's going through a 'phase'. 

I place my hand on the door handle and slide it open. I cough at the dust that enters my lungs. Was it really that long? I ignore the dust as best I could and take the tool box. I look around the lab one last time, thinking of the memories we had here. 

I walk out the lab, the toolbox in tow. I put it down onto the counter and examine the kettle. 

I may not be as gifted as Donnie was, I still know a thing or two about technology and I had the kettle fixed a tiring two hours later. 

"And, for the final test," I flip on the kettle and it starts boiling, "It works!" 

I start hearing whimpering again from the main room. I rush there and see the yellow eyed little boy started thrashing around, his face scrunched up. I hurriedly pick him up and start bouncing him in my arms, which helps with the thrashing, but not the whimpers. 

"Are you hungry," I ask but then mentally slap myself. It obviously can't talk and his obviously hungry. I carry it with me to the kitchen. I take the container of powder milk and read the instructions. 

Trying to make baby milk while holding a baby moments away from crying is not easy. I manage to do make the milk and test how hot it is with my finger. 

"Hot," I gasp, retracting my finger. No way was he gonna be able to drink that. I spill the milk down the drain and redo it. I test it and its more or less perfect. 

And baby snaps.

He starts wailing, loudly. I momentarly panick. I quickly place the edge of the cup to his mouth. He starts to lap it up quietly and greedily. I sigh in relief. He finishes it after, like, 3 minutes and I place the cup down and walk back to the couch. Right when I try to put him down, he, uhh, how's the 'not disgusting' way to say it? He regurgitates his milk back up. 

"Ewww," I say. He coughs and starts crying again. If he cries any louder, the other two will wake up. I rush to the kitchen, get a cloth from the sink and use it to wipe his face. I pick him up and lay him onto his stomach and pat his back. He coughs up some more milk before calming down. 

You know, on second thought, burping him right after feeding him might be a good idea. When I put him back onto his shell, I wipe his mouth again. At least his asleep, again. I head to the kitchen to make the other two cups of powder milk for the other two. 

Halfway through making the last one, I hear another baby crying. I immediatly put in the last scope of powder, pour the water and mix it as I walk to the couch. This time, its the silver diamond eyed one. The little girl looked about ready to let a rip. 

I pick up the silver eyed one and give him the milk first. He drinks up the milk just as fast as the first. This time, I learn from my mistake and put him on my shoulder and pat his shell. He lets out a small burp. I put him down and pick up the now crying girl. I carry her to the kitchen and feed her the last cup of milk. She, unlike the two little boys, savours the milk and takes alittle longer to drink it all up. Once she's done, I burp her as well and put her next to the others. 

I look at their sleeping forms and a smile automatically comes on my face as they snuggle together. It really warms my heart. 

It really does.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short, I know. It's just a chapter to show you all the names of the turtles! The next chapter will be better.

The sound of crying wakes me up. Crying? From where?

Oh yeah, right.

I stand up from the ridiculously long couch and walk to the other side. I look down and see it's the litte silver eyed turtle. I groan when I see the cause. 

Their blanket is wet.

Around their lower regions.

And I forgot to put their diapers on. 

I slap my forhead. Then slap it again. How could I forget something so important? 

I walk to the kitchen. I get the cloth I used to wipe their mouths and rinse it. I walk back to the couch and pull back the blankets. I was thanking the heavens it was just a number one. I pick him up, careful not to touch the wet areas, and wipe as much of the pee off as possible. He stops crying when I pick him up. I carry him to the kitchen. 

I fill up the sink and test the water. When its perfectly warm, I place him in and wash him up. Its alittle hard with him scuriming so much. 

"Come on," I mumble, "Don't make things hard for Mikey." Miraculously, I manage to clean him up. I take him out of the sink and he whimpered. Probably from the cold air. I grab the nearest clean towel in the kitchen and dry him off. Once his dry, the first thing I do is put on his diaper. Which was hard.

The first time, something looked wrong. The second time, it kinda stuck to his plastron by mistake but you know, the time's the charm. The third time, it looks perfect. Even though his not asleep, I lay him back onto the couch, but not on the same spot. 

I pick up the still snoozing girl and put the diaper on her. Satisfied, I place her next to the now wiggling little boy. I pick up the yellow eyed boy and put a diaper on him as well. I place him on the couch, too. The only wide awake one is the silver diamond eyed one. 

His just looking at me, half of his right hand in his mouth. I pick him up and cradle him. He looks like he wants to fall back to sleep, again. 

I look at the other two sleeping turtles. 

Wait a second, they need names.

Definatly. 

"You dudes need names," I say, put the tip of my index finger gently on the silver eyed one's plastron, "And lucky for you, I'm a master at it." 

He just looks at me, his eyes widening slightly from their narrowed look. I already know the perfect name for him. 

"Diamond, yep Diamond," I say, nodding, "Okay, so it might be a girl's name but it's perfect for you! Your eyes totally look like little diamonds!" 

He blinks, before snuggling as close to me as possible. I smile and pull him closer to me, "So, is that an a-okay on the name?" Obviously no answer, but I do hear his breath start to slow down. He fell asleep again. Boy can they sleep. 

I look at the other two. What to name them? The possiblities are endless! Choices, choices, choices...

I put lean forward slightly, putting my elbow on my knee and hold my chin on that hand without putting pressure to little Diamond. What to name them... 

I look at the yellow eyed turtle. He scuirms abit before yawning, he doesn't wake up though he does try to keep as close to the little girl as possible. 

Hmmm... 

How about...

... Hoshi? Yeah, cause if I can remember, Hoshi means stars and his eyes remind me of stars. Yeah, Hoshi, I like it. 

Now the little girl. I already know the absoultly perfect name for her. 

Kuroi Hana. Which means black flower. Her shell looks like a flower and her eyes are a black colour. And it sounds great for a girl's name.

I named them all after their eye colors... Don't see what's wrong with that. 

"Diamond, Hoshi, Kuroi Hana," I say out loud and I do something I haven't been able to do these last couple weeks, smile, "I love them."


	4. Chapter 4

It's been a couple of days seens I found Diamond, Hoshi and Kuroi Hana. Their all incredibly sweet and cute. I noticed they love to be as close as possible to each other, which makes me happy. 

Their all snoozing on the couch, again. They sleep so much, I guess that's reasonable since there isn't much for them to do yet. 

"Alright, Mikey," I say, pulling up the special belt Donnie made for holding tools, "Time to get to work." My voice is slowly recovering, its sounding better and better by the day. Maybe staying quiet for so long isn't great. 

Anyway, I decide to start the repairs room by room. First off, the livingroom. I need to look over the tv's damage and the lightbulbs need to be replaced. 

Tv first, of course. 

I bend over and look at the wires. The... Um... That thing which held the wires connected to the tv was loosened and its connection to the tv antennae was unplugged. 

I used the screwdriver to screw in the screws to put the thing back in it's place, fixing up the wires. I put the screwdriver back into it's pocket on the belt. I took the small wire of the antennae and put it in one of the tv's socket. 

"And we're back to this special Miley Cyrus special!" 

"Seriously," I groan. "Maybe I should have fixed the tv later." I stand up and stretch. After hearing a very satisfying 'pop', I start channel surfing using the buttons on the tv, until I find something. 

"Welcome to Video Zonkers!" 

"There we go," I said then look at the sleeping turtle babies, "Ain't Mikey awesome?" 

I study the rest of the room. Now for those dead lights. I walk to the lab and look through the cabinets for any lights. I find a large plastic bag of them in one of the cabinets. I take those and begin to replace the lights. 

I was about done with the livingroom's repairs when I heard crying. Shoving the nonfunctioning lightbulbs into the plastic bag, I walk to the couch and look at three. 

It was Hoshi. I put the bag down and pick him up. 

"What's wrong, Hoshi," I whisper, "Are you hungry?"

He continued crying and that's when I smelt something I was hoping I wouldn't smell for at least a couple of hours. 

"Okay, obviously not hungry," I say, extending my arms so Hoshi could be as far away from my poor nostrils as possible. I walk to my makeshift changing station, which were two milk crates ontop of each other. Ontop of the second one was a flat pillow. The pillow was wrapped in a plastic, a 'just in case' thing. Next to the crates was a beat up endtable. I found it in the sewers and didn't know what to do with it. I put diapers and stuff there so I could easily stretch my arm out for anything I might need. 

I eased Hoshi onto the pillow. He, thankfully, calmed down alittle. Now he was just lightly whimpering. I remove the soiled diaper off him, gagging alittle at seeing what's inside. 

You know, even after two days of doing this, I'm still grossed out by it. 

I fold the diaper up and throw it into the trashcan which, by the way, was in the kitchen. The diaper bounced on the edge but fell in. 

I silently cheer for myself as I use a couple of wet wipes to clean up anything extra before putting a new diaper on him. I pick him back up, he has his thumb and his index finger of one hand in his mouth, the third and last finger on his hand almost fitting in there as well. He was looking around the place with a look of slight awe. 

I smile softly and couldn't help but place a small kiss on his forehead. He cooed quietly, using his other hand to hold onto the part of my plastron which wasn't connected to my abdomen. I sat back down on the couch. The extra light in the lair was alittle... comforting somehow. I just liked it. 

Hoshi was staring at the tv, moving suddenly each time a bright picture or loud noise suddenly came up. Diamond and Kuroi Hana were still fast asleep, oblivious to anything else. I looked back up at the screen. It had been so long since I've watched tv and I missed it. I missed the emotions it brought me, whether it was excitement or terror or amusement. I missed the way it got me into my tv zombie mode, making me able to easily switch off my mind and focus on it completely. 

"Geez, Mikey, if only you could focus on katas and training as much as you focus on your favourite tv shows," he heard Leo's voice say as loud as if he were right there. I snicker from it, unconsciously answering it. 

"I'm just like that, bro," I said. My smile drops, remembering my eldest brother, the one who was with me the longest, was gone. Each accomplish meant we had together, defeating Shredder, stopping the Kraang, saving New York so many times. It stung and it still does. He was the only one I said a proper goodbye to. The only one who I could comfort and be comforted from after the rest of our family pasted. 

I felt tears began to well my eyes, he still only left weeks ago. I still feel like he'll come through those doors sometimes, holding extra supplies in his hand. That calming smile on his face. 

I hear a soft gurgle. I look down at Hoshi, he's lightly patting my plastron, probably to get my attention. He stops to look into my eyes. 

Then he does something I wasn't at all expecting. 

He smiles. 

It lit his whole face up, he looks so happy and carefree. He stretches his arms up, trying to reach me. I never saw any of them smile yet and seeing him smile got me smiling softly. I start to rook him in my arms. His arms drop, but he places most of his hand back into his mouth. His eyes still open as he continues to watch the tv screen. 

I relax, letting go of all my thoughts and try to focus on the tv channel. But my thoughts are disturbed by the sound of footsteps. 

Footsteps? Why do they sound like their approaching the lair? I quickly, but carefully, place Hoshi onto the couch. He takes in the change, continuing to watch the show. I quietly walk to the entrace and look around. I see a silhoutte of a body in the darkness of the sewers. I place my hands at my nunchuks, ready to strike when ready. 

"Turtle?" 

Wait, that voice sounded familiar. 

"Are you one of the turtles?" 

It couldn't be... Could it? 

That's when I hear the familiar movement of metalic legs bending at each footstep and the body begins to come closer and seem more clear. And then I see him. 

"Michelangelo!" 

I gasp, a smile widening onto my face. I can't believe who it is at all. 

"K-robo!" 

I smile at my robot bodied ally and friend. K-robo runs up to me, a smile tugging at his lips. 

"I was not sure if I was going the right way," he confesses, "But, I'm glad I found your home eventually." 

I couldn't help but hug him. I don't care if he can feel it or not, I just need too! He slowly hugs me back. The hug only lasted for a few seconds before we both let go of each other. 

K-robo is actually a rogue kraang. He defied everything Kraang Prime ordered, he even made his own robot body. It looks like a teenager with red hair which had blue at the tips, he wore a cyan tanktop, jeans and sneakers. His robotic eyes were silver and he made his voice traslator have a slightly lighter tune than the other kraang's and it sounded less robotic. It would be really hard, if not impossible, to know he wasn't human. 

K-robo helped us, me and Leo, with our huge battle against the Kraang and the ones before them. He's totally against the whole 'world domination' thing. While helping us, he also trapped himself in our dimension, never to return. He says his fine with that but sometimes, I think he misses home. 

K-robo looks over my shoulders and into the livingroom, studying it for a bit before speaking. 

"What's that," he says, pointing to the couches. I look behind me. Did he see the baby turtles? How could he have? Even I can't see them from where I'm standing, and I'm taller than him! 

"Oh, that," I walk to the couch and jump down into the small pit. I picked up little Hoshi and held him for K-robo to see. "These are my babies!" The words just rolled off the tongue. My babies. My babies... 

K-robo looks at the little turtle before hurriedly making his way to the other two. He examines them all throughly, before looking at me. 

"None of them share your DNA," he said, "Except the female," he pointed at Kuroi Hana, "But that is merely a tiny fraction. How are they yours?" 

I almost lost myself in thoughts. So, Kuroi Hana was the only one who actually shared, at least, abit of my DNA? Hmm, explains the freckles. But, I push the thoughts to the back of my mind as I answer my kraang friend, telling him about the kraang and the mutant eggs and them hatching and me taking care of them. 

He takes it all in, by nodding softly each time I end a sentance. He stretched his arms out at Diamond but retracted them. 

"May I," he trails off for a second before continuing, "Pick him up?" 

I smile and nod, "As long as your careful." He nods and picks Diamond up, carefully and securely. Diamond shuffles at his cold body, maybe to get some warmth from somewhere. K-robo began to smile, softly taking Diamond's hand into his own. 

"What are their names," he asks, his eyes still glued to Diamond. 

"This one's Hoshi, the girl on the couch is Kuroi Hana and the one your holding is Diamond." 

He gives each of them a glance, taking it all in. 

"Why did you name them those names," he asks. He knows I usually name things that just pop into my mind. Why did he think they were different? Or more importantly, how did he know they were different... 

"Well, I named them after their eye colour," I explain, "Hoshi means 'stars' and his eyes just look like little stars to me. Diamond's eyes are silver, but they also look like they have tiny, winy specks of the rainbow colors, like a Diamond. And Kuroi Hana means 'black flower'. Her eyes are a black colour but her shell looks abit like a flower so I decided to name her that." 

I look down at Hoshi and see him studying K-robo. Maybe to take in his shiny textures? Or the weird sound his voice makes when he speak? Either way, he was definatly doing something and it wasn't thoughtless staring. 

"C'mon," I say, "I think you might be hungry. Let's get some food in you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, yes. Why? Me sleepy. Me sleep now, goodnight -.-zzzzz


	5. Chapter 5

It's been half a year since K-Robo first met the little babies. His really helpful, too. He buys supplies for us every once a week. 

Everything in the lair is up and running, the lights, appliances, plumbing, thermostat... Everything. I've also decided to continue my ninjistu training. I always thought learning ninjistu was a waste of time when I was younger, but once we went up top for the first time almost 12 years ago, I was thanking Sensai a million times in my head. So, who knows how useful it will be to them once they're older. 

Right now, K-robo's out. It's still another 3 days until he buys us supplies. I still don't know where he lives but as long as his safe, I don't really care where. It's kinda lonely, not having anyone to talk to except K-robo and the three little ones. 

Sometimes, well, most of the time I wonder where everyone is. The Mutanimals, Mondo Gecko, Casey, April... 

"It is lonely down here, huh," I say to the three turtles. All of them are able to crawl and sit up on their own. They've grown alot bigger, which means a box for sleeping in just won't do. A couple of weeks ago, me and K-robo made a crib for them to sleep in. It's big enough for all of them. The crib is in my room. Because it's so big, I had to move my bed out of there. Where do I sleep, you ask? In Leo's room. It's the only room I'm sure didn't have cobwebs and creepy crawlers in it. Of course, the only thing I do in his room is sleep. Once I wake up, I make the bed the exact way he did it and leave the room and only return when I'm sleepy. 

I managed to clean my room up and make it as neat for the turtles as possible. At least the smell of rotten pizza is gone. 

Anyway, me and the small turtles, Hoshi, Diamond and Kuroi Hana, or Hana for short since Kuroi Hana is abit too long, are in the bathroom. The bath's full of warm water, ready to be washed with. I picked up the three crawling turtles and slowly put them in the water. As expected, Hana begins to splash in the water, giggling and splashing water on her brothers. They both make a sound of irritation. It reminds me of me and my brothers. Me being Hana and Diamond and Hoshi being my other brothers. 

Oh, the memories... 

I smile before taking Hana's arms in my hands, making her stop and calm down. She still has a huge smile on her face which makes me smile. I begin washing them with a washing cloth that was near the bath. I begin with Hoshi, since he, obviously, didn't like being washed. But once I got to his feet, he was giggling, which was a rare but nice change. I noticed he was really quiet compared to Diamond and Hana. He didn't usually cry for attention, just nappy changes and food. 

It makes me laugh alittle seeing him laugh, even for a few seconds. He stops giggling once I'm done with his feet but there was still a smile on his face. I finish washing him up and pull him out of the water, quickly drying him off with a towel. 

Now with Hoshi wrapped up in the towel, I manage to hold him while washing Diamond, which was really fast. I take him out of the water and dry him off, too. 

Finally, I wash Hana which was abit more difficult compared to her brothers. Even though I've been bathing them for months, Hana began becoming more active not too long ago. Especially in the water. Miraculously, I manage to finish washing her up and dry her off as well. I pull the plug in the tub and take the three turtles to my former room, which was now theirs. I open the door and put the turtles in the crib. It's mostly brown in colour. The mattress inside is white with brown horses on it. There is also their navy blue blanket in there. 

I place them all inside, unintentionally by age order, Diamond, Hoshi and Hana. I take the book that lay on the nightstand next to the crib, opening it to a random story. Yes, it's a story book, Einstein. I begin reading to them, all of them seem pretty intrested. 

"... 'Why do we need so many apple pies?' asked Baby Hedgehog.  
'Because,' said his mother, 'Folks don't eat just one slice, they eat two or three and sometimes four. In fact, I have known Mr Grey Badger to eat a whole apple pie with a jug full of fresh cream on top!'" 

The three turtles all gasped. Even though they can't speak, it looks like they understand words and phrases now, which is good. It means I'm not just talking to myself all the time. I continue on. 

"'You'd better get busy then,' Baby Hedgehog told his mother.   
'I thought all of you young ones could lend a hand,' smiled Mrs Hedgehog.  
'Do you think that you could manage to peel and slice the apples for me?'  
The little hedgehogs groaned. 'We all hate peeling apples,' they chorused. 'We want to go out to play!'  
'Then I'll make it into a game,' suggested Mrs Hedgehog. 'I'll give a prize to the one who can cut off the most apple peel in one piece.'" 

Hana giggled. She usually did, she really reminds me of, well, me. She'd always just giggle at the most random things, the tv, the radio, a wall, a door opening, being picked up, even when I'm changing her diaper. It scared me at first, I was scared she might be planning on peeing while I was still getting a diaper to put on her. Luckly, that never happened with any of them. Still super thankful about that. 

I was about to continue when I heard the turnstiles turn. K-robo must be back. But, he usually only visits when he drops off supplies. What could he possibly want? 

"Just a second, daddy has to see who's there," I coo in a 'baby voice'. I can't help it! It's the perfect time for me to be using it and I am not going to waste this golden opportunity. I place the book down, stand up and head for the door. I can hear them whimpering for me to come back, but I continue on. I, cautiously, open the door, looking around the area. I notice someone was there, but who was that? I put my hand to my kasarigama, getting ready to strike this intruder. I walk out of my room quietly and head over to the person, their back facing me. 

I was this close to speaking when the person turned around and screamed. In surprise or fright, I'm not sure. Until I actually look at the person features alittle better. 

Blue eyes, red-orange hair, freckles... 

"April?" She stops and blinks. 

"M-Mikey," she asked, in obvious surprise. I smile and nod. Her shocked expression turns into one of joy before she hugs me. She's definatly taller, but then again, so am I. We're both about the same age, too. Both turning 27. Wow, now that I think of it, I am old! 

She lets me go, a smile still on her face. 

"You look so..." 

"Different?"

"Yeah," she says, looking me over. "It's nice to see you again!" 

"You thought I was a goner, didn't you?" 

If it wasn't for my smiling face, I think she would have thought I was saying it in offence. I kinda lost my sarcasticness, being with a robot for so long doesn't help at all. 

April merely laughs it off, as if it were a joke. 

"I'm glad your safe," I say, looking her over. Her hair's free, it's mostly draped on her shoulders. She's wearing a yellow transperant blouse with a black tank top underneath. She's also wearing a white knee length skirt and black ankle high boots. 

"Yep," she says, smiling but it turned into a pout, "Although, Chicago isn't as exciting as it is here." She looks back up at me, "Where's your mask?" 

I touch my face. I realize I really wasn't wearing it. I don't remember taking it off. At least I still have extras. 

"I don't know," I say, honestly, "It might have fallen off." My smile widens. It feels great having someone, who's been there for us for so long, here again. I couldn't help but hug her again. "I missed you." 

She remained unmoving for a few seconds before slowly hugging back, "I missed you, too." I let her go. 

"We have a lot of catching up to do," April says, grinning. I hear a faint cry coming from their bedroom. Oh no... 

"Just a second," I say, running to the room. I open the door and look into the crib. It's Diamond. Hana and Hoshi look like their seconds away from following his lead. 

"It's okay," I say, picking him up. The sound of my voice calms them all down. I begin drawing invisibles circles on Diamond's plastron with my finger. This almost always calms them down. 

"Mikey..?" 

I look back and see April at the doorway, just watching the scene. A look of awe on her face. 

"... Are they yours?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to TMNT '12! And many more to come! I'll have the next chapter of 'Burden No More' up asap! Thanx to all you awesome people and Helen V for the comments! You're all awesomistic!


	6. I'm super duper sorry, I really can't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not a chapter

Hey... Yea, it's me. I'm going to be honest, I've lost all intrest in my tmnt fanfic and almost all intrest in tmnt writing as well. The spark's gone, I guess... I know, i know I'm being a quiter but my brain is literally just out of ideas for future chapters so all my tmnt stories (except one shots) are for adoption if anyone wants. Just ask and its yours  
Sorry again  
kunoichineko

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think, it'll mean alot!


End file.
